[IER] IER report: Health and safety laws must be modernised

Fri Apr 27 17:34:02 BST 2018

IER News Brief 27/04/18Follow us on Twitter 
news brief
Friday 27th April 2018
In response to a Regulatory Reform Committee inquiry into the Government Deregulation Agenda, four professors have recommended legislative changes that adapt health and safety laws to better protect an increasingly fragmented workforce.

The experts propose reforms that have already been successfully adopted in Australia. The country's Workplace Health and Safety Act places the duty of care on Persons in Control of a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) rather than employers, which means parent companies retain liability for the health and safety of all workers conducting duties on their behalf, even if they are employed by third parties.

Further, the authors note that better involvement of trade unions and stronger powers for health and safety representatives - such as the ability to cease work that poses an imminent risk - contribute greatly to improving the safety of the workplace.

The experts also identify five regulations that should be scrapped, as they prioritise business costs over public safety.

Recommendations made in the IER's submission build on those developed as part of the Manifesto for Labour Law project. The Manifesto contains 25 recommendations for labour law reform, and has been adopted by the Labour Party as a blueprint for its future employment law policies.

Read the full submission here

Read more about our Manifesto for Labour Law
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> click here to read full storyIER response to govt deregulation inquiry: health and safety laws must be modernised 
Responding to the Parliamentary Regulatory Reform Committee's Government Deregulation Agenda Inquiry, the Institute of Employment Rights (IER) has recommended that health and safety legislation is modernised in keeping with an increasingly fragmented workplace. 
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 Featured publication 
The world of work is changing. Fast. But the framework of law tasked with protecting the health, safety and well being of workers is now 50 years old and – according to the authors of this report – no longer fit for purpose. As a result, work continues to generate large and unacceptable levels of harm, despite the massive reductions of employment in high-risk areas of work like manufacturing, docks, steel and mining. The authors conclude that the time has come to repeal the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act and to fundamentally reform the current framework of law governing workplace health and safety. To support this conclusion, the authors measure the appropriateness of the Act against four central issues: the Act’s application to today’s employment patterns and structures; the oversight and enforcement of employer compliance with their legal duties; worker access to representation on health and safety issues; and the overall governance and resourcing of our regulatory bodies. Looking to the future, the authors offer a number of informed policy recommendations based on good international practices.

Click here to read more and purchase your copy, or access your free download if you subscribe  Events Liverpool: The Future of Labour Law: Progressive rights under a progressive government
10 May 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, Liverpool
At this conference, key authors from our Manifesto for Labour Law team will guide delegates through our proposed reforms, the evidence behind them, and the benefits for workers, employers and the economy of reform.
Speakers include Prof Nicola Countouris, Prof David Whyte, Dr Aristea Koukiadaki, Prof Sonia McKay & John Hendy QC.
> click here to read more and book your placeLondon: The Future of Labour Law: Progressive rights under a progressive government
14 June 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London
At this conference, key authors from our Manifesto for Labour Law team will guide delegates through our proposed reforms, the evidence behind them, and the benefits for workers, employers and the economy of reform.
Speakers include Prof Nicola Countouris, Prof David Whyte, Dr Aristea Koukiadaki & John Hendy QC.
> click here to read more and book your place
  PublicationsLabour Law Highlights 2017: £8
Edited by Rebecca Tuck
Catch up with the most important case law developments in 2017 in the latest of our popular Labour Law Highlights series.

In this year’s Labour Law Highlights, a team of barristers from Old Square Chambers returns to assess how each of these events has impacted upon case law in the last 12 months, including clarification from the courts on the requirements of the Trade Union Act in practice, the flurry of tribunal hearings regarding ‘gig’ workers, and further decisions on the rights of workers required to take "sleep-in" shifts. In each case, they provide commentary on the potential wider implications of tribunal decisions.
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Notes from a seminar by the Institute of Employment Rights and the Marx Memorial Library
On 01 July 2017, labour movement leaders from across Europe met at the Marx Memorial Library, London, to discuss how a progressive future for workers’ rights can be sought following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. This report documents the meeting, including the transcripts of each presentation, as well as notes on the discussion between panel and delegates on the day.
> click here to read more and purchaseThe Legacy of Thatcherism in European Labour Relations: The Impact of the Politics of Neo-Liberalism and Austerity on Collective Bargaining in a Fragmenting Europe: £8
By Miguel Martinez Lucio, Aristea Koukiadaki and Isabel Tavora
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this analysis – the 11th in our Comparative Notes series – shines a light on the deleterious effect of the nation's deregulatory influence on the bloc.
> click here to read more and purchase8 Good Reasons Why Adult Social Care Needs Sectoral Collective Bargaining: £8
By Dr Lydia Hayes
In this booklet, Dr Lydia Hayes sets out the lessons learned from her interdisciplinary research into the social care sector, and builds upon the recommendations made in the Institute of Employment Rights' Manifesto for Labour Law: a comprehensive revision of worker’s rights to propose a sectoral collective bargaining structure for the negotiation of wages and conditions.
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